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Saturday, November 1, 2014

Investment in temperate rice research pays dividends

Dr. Jong-Min Jeong and Dr. Russell Reinke at the Korean Rural Development Administration's Chuncheon sub-station, where rice is tested under cold water treatment.

BANGKOK, Thailand - “Their
investments are paying off,” says Dr. Russell Reinke, head of the Temperate
Rice Research Consortium (TRRC), referring to the support given by the Korean
Rural Development Association (RDA). RDA is the consortium's primary investor.

Temperate rice is generally grown in regions
with long days and lower temperatures than the tropics, at latitudes greater
than 23.5° south or north. Areas that produce this type of rice are widely
dispersed around the world, making regular scientific interaction a big
challenge.

RDA’s
funding made TRRC possible, as well as the recent research developments and
breakthroughs on temperate rice. In recent years, there has been an increased sharing of germplasm among partners.
TRRC now has 22 member-countries. Because of the isolation of some temperate
regions, it’s also crucial to have a reason for temperate rice regions to come
together and share research developments.

Key
results on sustainability, cold tolerance, and grain quality were presented
during the 5th Temperate Rice Conference (TRC5), integrated this time around into the science program of the 4th International Rice Congress or IRC2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.

TRC5 is seen as a way of educating the
tropical researchers about the extent and diversity of rice-production regions
(e.g., temperate rice).

“This
conference has provided a venue for us to interact. Just as RDA’s investment is
paying dividends, I hope that the effort that researchers have made to come
here will also pay dividends for them,” adds Dr. Reinke.

Since its creation, TRRC has
accomplished more through collaborative research aimed at increasing rice
production in temperate and high altitude regions, as well as overcome
constraints to better yield and quality of temperate rice.

Among several constraints
that limit rice production in temperate areas is low temperature. It affects
several million hectares of rice cultivation area in Africa, Asia, Australia,
Europe, and South and North America resulting in annual yield losses. In
addition, low temperature at the seedling stage damages boro rice production in Bangladesh and in high-altitude regions of
Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Nepal.

Also, biotic stresses such as
blast and bacterial blight are problems in areas with lower
temperature---a disease-conducive environment in temperate as well as
high-altitude regions.

Even though temperate japonica
rice occupies only 20% of the rice cultivation area worldwide, the decline in
its production is a major cause of food insecurity.

Thus, research and sharing of
information through TRRC play important roles in understanding how yield
potential can be increased in temperate areas.

~

Around 1,500 participants from 69 countries are attending the 4th International Rice Congress, or IRC2014, at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC).

IRC2014 is being held under the patronage of the Royal Government of Thailand, specifically the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and is touted as the “Olympics of rice science,” being the largest gathering of rice science and industry held every four years.

For more information: ricecongress.com

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